Being the second book in the MacQuarie Series. It bears mentioning that the books are written by a women because in finding his second wife our hero manages to be dumb to the fact that the woman he eventually stumbles over has placed herself under foot since he was 25 and she 13. When he comes back to England a widower he finds Elizabeth working in his Mother's Home and then later squires her around London without managing to take a tumble. In fact it isn't until she threatens to off to China as a missionary that he finally comes to his senses. All this by way of saying that even the greatest of men can miss matters of importance right in front of their noses.
As Military Governor of New Holland Lachlan MacQuarry had dictatorial powers and an army to back it up; communication with England took at least 16 months. The free-men who settled Botany Bay were given free land grants and the free labor of those transported at regular intervals backed up by the lash. The convicts arrived on a one-way ticket with a minimum sentence of seven years after which they had no means of return. Men who gained their freedom could attempt to find work but with boatloads of up to 500 free-labor arriving regularly their labor was not worth much. Girls so transported had little recourse but to enter the prostitution trade as a means of staying alive and with a military garrison at hand madams had no lack of clients. In attempting to break this tyranny the new governor invoked the wrath and opposition of the 'exclusives' who until his arrival had had things pretty much their way.
After several miss-carriages and the death of her first-born Elizabeth gives birth to a son with the aid of a transported doctor. George Jarvis who follows Lachlan to Australia, so-named by the governor himself, continues ably in his unofficial capacity as aide-de-camp. As Lachlan points out he is more useful to him in that capacity than if he joined the army. A strikingly handsome Indian Moslem walking the halls of Government house served to raise more than a few eyebrows and attract the attention of serving girls but lightning finally strikes in a love-at-first-sight scenario.
Above are the bald facts that inform this historical novel but the execution is done in such a way that the reader is given an insider's view of the events and the characters who inhabit government house with all their foibles and with a sense of humour that engages from start to finish. I sat down and read 3/4 of the book in one sitting. Lachlan is pragmatic, just, and caring, brooks no interference, and refuses to entertain fools. He gets things done. With George at one side and his military attache at the other, and a troop of guards at his back he rides out, assesses the situation, seeks advice, and sees things righted. That he uses transported ex-prisoners and even eats with them scandalizes the puffed up elite. He sounds almost a Christ-like figure and to many he probably was.
As Military Governor of New Holland Lachlan MacQuarry had dictatorial powers and an army to back it up; communication with England took at least 16 months. The free-men who settled Botany Bay were given free land grants and the free labor of those transported at regular intervals backed up by the lash. The convicts arrived on a one-way ticket with a minimum sentence of seven years after which they had no means of return. Men who gained their freedom could attempt to find work but with boatloads of up to 500 free-labor arriving regularly their labor was not worth much. Girls so transported had little recourse but to enter the prostitution trade as a means of staying alive and with a military garrison at hand madams had no lack of clients. In attempting to break this tyranny the new governor invoked the wrath and opposition of the 'exclusives' who until his arrival had had things pretty much their way.
After several miss-carriages and the death of her first-born Elizabeth gives birth to a son with the aid of a transported doctor. George Jarvis who follows Lachlan to Australia, so-named by the governor himself, continues ably in his unofficial capacity as aide-de-camp. As Lachlan points out he is more useful to him in that capacity than if he joined the army. A strikingly handsome Indian Moslem walking the halls of Government house served to raise more than a few eyebrows and attract the attention of serving girls but lightning finally strikes in a love-at-first-sight scenario.
Above are the bald facts that inform this historical novel but the execution is done in such a way that the reader is given an insider's view of the events and the characters who inhabit government house with all their foibles and with a sense of humour that engages from start to finish. I sat down and read 3/4 of the book in one sitting. Lachlan is pragmatic, just, and caring, brooks no interference, and refuses to entertain fools. He gets things done. With George at one side and his military attache at the other, and a troop of guards at his back he rides out, assesses the situation, seeks advice, and sees things righted. That he uses transported ex-prisoners and even eats with them scandalizes the puffed up elite. He sounds almost a Christ-like figure and to many he probably was.
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